Blood Traitor Brat
by Zelkina Phoenix
Summary: Victoria Selwynn is a seventh year Slytherin. Her mother, Maive Blackheart, is a Death Eater. Unwilling to follow in her mothers murderous footsteps, when Victoria pledges her alleigence to Harry Potter she finds herself victim of attempted murder.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Betrayal

"Did you get her?" came a voice. Its owner only just had time to duck before the wall behind him was blown apart.

"No, he didn't!" came a second cry. The man looked round, just in time to see a length of fair hair whip round the corner.

"Follow that whelp!" shouted the gruffer, more burly voice of a second man. They tore after her, falling flat on their faces as they were caught by a Trip Jinx. She was at the other end of the corridor; her fearful blue eyes reflected back at her in the mirror outside her room. She continued to run, firing curses over her shoulder. There was a yelp as a spell caught one of the men. He let out a few choice words as he began to bleed heavily.

"Wait until I get hold of you, Victoria Selwynn! I'm going to use Sectumsempra on _you_, and see how much you like using it then!" The first man growled. Vicky skidded round a corner, and almost ran in to a wall; it was a dead end.

"We've got you now, kid; don't think you can run from us!" The second man let out a laugh that Vicky was sure she had heard before. She had to think of something fast. They rounded the corner and both raised their wands crying "_Expulso_!" Vicky didn't know what happened next. She was falling, falling...and then there was darkness as the walls of her home fell down around her.

Vicky was covered in rubble, blood running down her face. She lay perfectly still, holding her nose so she would not sneeze. She looked up at a piece of wall as a large boot came down on it. She held her breath; she would not die here, she resolved. She would not be snuffed out without a fair fight. Suddenly she thought of Harry's parents. She did not want the same fate, she would have her revenge.

"Did we get her, do you think?" asked the boot's owner.

"Yeah. How could we have missed? Maive will be happy with us. Who would want a blood traitor in the family anyway?" said the second man. "That's a nasty cut she gave you, better get it checked out." There was silence, then two loud cracks. Vicky breathed a sigh of relief. They were gone.

With strength she barely had, Vicky pushed away the rubble pinning her down, freeing herself from what her former family home. There was barely anything left of it. Vicky swept her matted hair away from her face. The sounds of Muggle sirens were becoming louder; they would arrive within minutes. The Dark Mark was hovering above, she had to leave immediately. Ministry wizards, were The Ministry even under safe control any more, would be there soon as well. Either them or the Order of the Phoenix. She summoned her trunk, which had been packed for days, from the rubble. Then she turned on the spot, and with a crack, was gone.

She re-appeared in an alleyway in London, close to where she had hoped she would wind up. She had never been spot on with Apparation, and had jumped at the chance to take the test two days after her birthday. It had to be nearing nine, maybe ten in the evening as it was almost dark. Summer days were so long, Vicky decided, at a time when she would have given anything for a bit of darkness. She looked round, making sure no Muggles were in sight, before using her wand to shrink and lighten the trunk she held on to so tightly, so it would fit inside her pocket. She then walked up the road and into a dingy little pub.

"Evening," said the landlord nervously, his voice trailing off as Vicky lowered her hood.

"Evening Tom," Vicky managed.

"Merlin! What happened to you?" he asked, practically leaping over the bar as the last of Vicky 's strength gave out and she fell. She grabbed onto the bar, steadying herself.

"I was attacked; have you got a room, Tom? Just for the night? I'll be gone in the morning," Vicky asked, wiping her forehead. The blood had dried and she did not know what parts of her skin were wounded and which ones were not. Tom nodded and showed her upstairs.

"Oh, and Tom, if anyone comes asking for me, you haven't seen me. Okay?" she said. Tom nodded and drew his finger across his lips, giving her a toothless grin.

Vicky stood at the basin at the washstand, and looked in the mirror. Blood ran down her face from several small cuts on her forehead, and her arms were covered in dust and blood where she had tried to protect herself from the falling masonry. Her hair was just as big a mess, and she had tired, heavy bags under her eyes.

"I look a state," she muttered to herself, splashing her face with cold water. It was cool and refreshing. Vicky began to wash, wincing as her hands ran over something in her arm. She pulled out a small piece of glass. She realized how lucky she was, that she was barely injured. They really had meant to do her in, and she got away with nothing more than fatigue and scratches. But there were injuries; her own mother had ordered this attack, she remembered them saying. _Her own mother_. The woman who raised her, and had cared for her--well, she did enough to keep Vicky alive--had ordered her own daughter's death. Vicky looked in to the mirror, her eyes cold as steel. The woman had signed her own daughter's death sentence.

Despite how tired she was, Vicky slept badly. Over and over in her dreams, Vicky's mother revealed her true colours, always the same conversation from the past.

It was the summer between her fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts. She had passed her O.W.L.S. with Exceeds Expectations in everything. A nice, rounded average, she had decided. The Daily Prophet was reporting more people dying--Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance had been found dead. Vicky shivered, the streets at night were full of fear, it seemed. People were vanishing all over the place.. Merlin help her if her wand broke in any way, Mr. Olivander had just gone missing.

"It's about time you decided on your choice of subjects for your N.E.W.T.S," her mother had said when they were at the dinner table.

"I've told you already, I'm taking subjects that will let me be an Auror," Vicky replied, annoyed. She scowled, the green eyes of her mother locked with her own blue ones in battle, neither refusing to give up the deadly game.

"And I heard you, but you're not becoming an Auror! No no ..." She gave a horrible laugh. "You'll end up dead, my dear." Her eyes narrowed,

"I'm going to be an Auror, and that's that." Vicky said resolutely. She put down her knife and fork, despite her plate barely being empty. The tide of the argument was not helping her appetite.

"Times are changing, Victoria. Wake up and smell the potion. The _Auror _populationwill soon be dwindling, quite a bit. There is bigger, and much better coming." Maive Blackheart looked at her daughter sternly across the dinner table.

"If you mean You-Know-Who..." Vicky began.

"At last, you catch on! The Dark Lord has a use for clever and resourceful students like you, my girl." There was a moment silence, but it seemed to drift on forever as Vicky realised what her mother had just said to her.

"I can't believe you're saying this! Next you'll be telling me that you're a..." Vicky felt the blood run from her face. "You are, aren't you? You're one of...one of _them_." Maive said nothing, but pulled up her left sleeve. It was there, a serpent black as night, just below the shoulder.

"And if you have any sense, Victoria, you'll become one too," Maive said. Vicky stood up, desperately wishing she was already seventeen. She trembled as she spoke.

"I may be a Slytherin, _Mother._" Vicky said the word like it was an unpleasant, revolting thing from the bathroom floor. "But it will be a cold day in hell before I join you. I support Dumbledore, and Harry Potter. It's your lot whose days are numbered." Vicky walked off firmly, hoping to have the last word, not wanting to know what her mother might add to this.

"Then I am glad I have no daughter to mourn when you die," Maive said, coldly. "You and your father have never been any good to me." Vicky continued out of the room, straight up the stairs into her room. That was the last conversation they had. The next morning, Maive had left the house. There was a scrap of parchment to say she would not be welcome to live at that home while she held the views she did; their relationship was over. She was true to her word; she kicked Vicky out the next day. However, strangely, after a week of hearing nothing from her mother, Vicky was allowed to return home. She refused to speak to her mother, refused even to acknowledge her presence. She stayed at one end of the mansion, her mother at the other. Her own mother, _one of them, _Vicky thought. How would she prove to Harry that Slytherin's were not all bad now? Her sleeping mind drifted away to how they had first met.

They had met in detention, Vicky being accused of stealing a lower year Ravenclaw's belongings. It was Draco Malfoy who did the deed. Harry, of course, had done little to deserve his detention from Umbridge. She knew who Harry was, of course, but he did not seem to know her. They walked from detention together, both angry and thinking of rather nasty ways to dispose of Umbridge

"I believe you, you know," Vicky said as soon as they were past earshot of Umbridge's office.

"Well I'm glad someone does," he said, bitterly. "Thanks."

"No problem." Vicky attempted a smile.

"What house are you in?" he asked. "I don't think you're in Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw for that matter."

"I'm not. I-I'm a Slytherin. We don't all want to be slaves to You Know Who, you know." she said quickly.

"I find that hard to believe, actually." Harry gave her a sideways look. There was silence for a moment as they continued to walk.

"Go ahead and think what you will. There's no Mark on my forearm." Vicky pulled up the sleeve of her robes to prove her point. Harry said nothing. They parted at the bottom of a staircase, but it was not long before Vicky met him again. Her hand was dripping blood by the time she finished her second detention with Umbridge, who had overheard her telling a fellow Slytherin that she believed Harry, that Voldemort was back and that she thought he would be the one to kill him.

Vicky held up her hand as he entered, behind Umbridges back, the bloody gashes spelling the words "_I must not spread rumours_" on the back. They had a few moments of peace when Umbridge left the room to deliver something personally to Professor McGonagall, no doubt to wind her up further.

"Believe me now?" Vicky hissed as the door slammed shut. Harry pulled a bottle from his bag and handed it to her, after pouring some in to a smaller bottle for himself.

"Murtlap Essence. Bathe your hand in it tonight." he said. "And yes, I do believe you now. Come to the D.A. We could use an extra hand."

"Harry, I would, but I'm a Slytherin. I'll bet you ten Galleons the first person to see me there hexes me on sight." Vicky said. Harry hung his head, knowing she was right.

"Trust me, Harry. When I'm needed, I'll be on your side. You can count on that," Vicky said. Harry reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Thanks. That means quite a lot right now, believe it or not," Harry said, letting go just before Umbridge returned.

The dream dissolved into something else. She was running, dreaming of a memory from her past. Curses flew past her again as her mother chased her; there were explosions and bangs as the curses hit walls and furniture, making Maive even more livid. Vicky had spoken out of turn, according to her mother. Vicky had voiced her opinion that Harry Potter would defeat Voldemort. When her mother caught up with her--suddenly the memory faded, but Vicky remembered the pain. She was still a year too young to protect herself.

"GET OFF ME!" She awoke, yelling. It was still dark outside. A bit of moonlight shone through the windows. Vicky wiped her forehead and regained control of her breathing. That woman would pay for this. She would pay dearly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Little Help

It took her a while to go back to sleep, the last dream of being chased occurred again, but someone appeared in front of her. She stopped running...she could only crawl...there was another child with her, a boy...he held out a cuddly bear to her that seemed oddly familiar.

Vicky awoke sweating, shaking a little in the morning. Someone was banging on the door, urgently.

Vicky opened it to find Tom stood there.

"There's two Death Eaters wandering around downstairs looking for you...you need to get out of here." he said, as Vicky hurriedly dressed. Again, she shrunk her trunk, and put it in a robe pocket.

"Thanks for the warning Tom..." Vicky said. He took her down some back stairs, and got her to hide in a bin, which he levitated out in to the garden near the wall to Diagon Alley. He kept watch as she tapped the wall with her wand, and slipped through the arch and in to the street behind.

She carried on down the street, and up to Gringotts. She stood and waited as the two goblins outside waved their probes over her to check for any disguise, and was ushered in. Gringotts didn't have the same welcoming feel to it any more, Vicky thought as she wandered to a help goblin. It was unhappy...depressing even. Death Eaters stalked the place daily, though they could do nothing...it was as if they were waiting for something. She kept her face hidden as she walked behind a blonde man who looked from the back like a fellow Slytherin, to be discovered now wouldn't help.

"Can I help, Madam?" asked the goblin behind the desk.

"I'm visiting my vault please. Victoria Selwynn." The goblin looked up, nodded, and summoned a second to take her to her vault.

"You are seventeen now?" asked the goblin.

"Yes. On the fifteenth" Vicky replied.

"Griphook, go and get the clankers. You'll be visiting the main vault."

"Main vault?" Vicky said, puzzled. She only had one vault, and that was one that had been set up when she was eleven, for her Hogwarts things.

"Yes Ma'm." The goblin made a clicking sound with his fingers and a piece of parchment made it's sudden appearance. He handed it to her to read.

_"I, Gordrich Selwynn, hereby declare that the contents of Vault 367 will be legally the property of Victoria Dracora Selwynn, my only daughter, when she comes of age on the 15th of July 1997. As of the age of eleven, 300 Galleons shall be moved from this vault to a sub vault every three years, which she shall have access to upon turning eleven. Under no circumstances shall any other being be permitted to enter or subtract funds from either vault._

_ Signed_

_ Gordrich Marcus Selwynn"_

Vicky stared at the parchment, stunned. Her father had set aside a high security vault, just for her? Something deep inside stirred...a voice came back to her from a memory so deeply buried, she never knew it existed. "_You'll never want for anything once you finish Hogwarts...never again"_

"This way, Madam." said the second goblin, jolting Vicky from her reverie. They went to the wooden carts, waiting for its next driver. Vicky held one of the clankers tightly as the cart wound its way deeper and deeper in to the ground. As the cart pulled to a stop, Vicky saw something grey and scaly moving ahead. The goblin with her activated its clankers and bid Vicky to do the same. As they walked forwards, the dragon began to back away, fearing the pain it associated with the noise. As they approached the door, a voice rang out.

"Who's blood is it that runs in your veins" Vicky looked around wildly, looking for the voice.

"Your father asked for a very different kind of protection. Answer the question." said the goblin. Vicky took a shakey breath and opened her mouth.

"The blood of Gordrich Selwynn" Vicky answered. There was a series of clicks as locks undid themselves, and the doors of the vault pulled themselves open. Vicky gasped as the doors swung open and she saw nothing but glittering gold, gemstones and precious items many would have died for.

"All this...it's mine?" she gasped, walking in to the vault. She bent down next to the nearest pile of Galleons, and began to scoop them in her money bag. Looking up, she saw a painting. There were two young children, sat down, playing with some toys. They were giggling away, looking quite happy and content. Vicky wondered who they were.

Emerging back on the front steps of Gringotts, she was barely out the door when someone shouted something. Looking from where the shout had come from, two men, looking amazingly familiar, were running towards her, wands raised. She turned and saw no one running...they were after her!

"Shit..." she gasped and turned and ran...she didn't know where she was running to as she raced past people, accidentally knocking someone over in the process. A curse flew past her shoulder, but she didn't dare aim one behind her, what if she hurt someone?

"We'll get you this time, Selwyn!" came the yell of one man. Realisation hit her like a sledgehammer. They were the two who had tried to kill her. Vicky leapt over a table selling trinkets and such, and fired a curse at it . The table flew up and towards the men, making them duck the shower of contents as it turned upside down. She turned a corner, and hid up against an out cropping wall, forming a barrier between her and her pursuers. There was a clattering of feet as they came past her, taking the left turn instead of the right. Vicky chanced a look round, before running back out. Looking behind her, she realised she had ended up in Knockturn Alley...She swore violently and promised herself never to enter the place again.

Walking back down towards the furthest part of Diagon Alley, she decided she needed to get away from London...she needed to hide, but where? Vicky's mind was in a whirl. Someone must have known she would come here, someone must have been watching. If she stayed too long, she would be dead...but if she was careful, maybe she would be ok for now. She stepped in to a junk shop, and pulled out her trunk.

"Can I help, my dear?" asked an elderly witch.

"Yes...do you have a back room I can use...I need to go through a few items in this trunk to decide what to keep, then the rest you can have." Vicky said. She would be hidden, for a little while at least, then she could make a quick dash to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, and pick up a few items that might help. She had a feeling she might be needing some Decoy Detonators soon.

Half an hour later, Vicky had take pretty much everything out of the trunk that she didn't need. Some paper clippings about her father's Order of Merlin, and his death, a little blue and pink pair of teddies. Some vials with a strange silvery liquid inside, with dates on parchment that was stuck to the vial. A few books she deemed important, and a photograph of her father. It wasn't much, but these were her prized possessions. Although she often wondered where the little blue bear had come from, she had no other family members it could belong to. It now seemed pretty stupid to lug a trunk around while she didn't even fill half of it.

"Here dear," said the elderly witch. She handed her a very basic, black shoulder bag. "I think there's an Extension charm on it...old owner kept saying she would loose stuff in it for months." she handed it to Vicky.

"Thank you...how much do I owe you?" Vicky asked. The elderly lady shook her head.

"the stuff you've given me will make me a good few Galleons so that's more than I can ask. Now go on, get going...it's going to be closing time for lunch soon for most shops here." the elderly lady said. Vicky smiled, and without another word, she left.

People were walking scared in groups now, hardly anyone dared to walk about on their own. Briefly, Vicky wondered if they thought she was a Death Eater as she walked down from the junk shop. People seemed to scurry away from her as she passed them, when Vicky sat down on a bench because she thought she was being followed, the elderly witch at the other end practically ran. There was no sign of her attackers, she assumed they must have thought she had Apparated away. If they were keeping tabs on her, they'd know that she hadn't left Diagon alley yet. She got up again, and walked down towards Weasleys Wizard Wheezes.

The prospect of entering Weasleys Wizard Wheezes was not something she particularly wanted to do at that moment in time...she wasn't sure if she could face him now. She was still bruised from the night before, and was lucky to get out of the Leaky Cauldron, and escape the chase without being caught. Vicky sighed and headed for the door of the shop. She grasped the handle, took a deep breath and went in.

Vicky had a crush on Fred Weasley, ever since her third year. He had also had a crush on her, and they had begun to write each other secret letters, and meeting in secret as often as they could during Vicky's fifth year. So many times, they had met in secret, avoiding Filch by the narrowest of margins at times. As the months went on, Vicky was truly falling for him. But because she was a Slytherin, and he a Gryffindor, things could never have worked out. When they decided to stop seeing each other, someone had gotten hold of the letter he sent Vicky, and it spread around the school like wildfire. Fred insisted Vicky had done it as revenge, while Vicky was adamant he had leaked it on purpose, to get the sympathy vote and make her look like a typical, heartless Slytherin.

They'd had a very public row in the great hall one breakfast time, during which both had said some very nasty and awful things to each other, out of anger and hurt. He obviously wasn't going to be too polite to her as a result.

"Vicky...hello..." said Fred, tersely.

"Fred...hello..." she looked round...there was barely anyone there. If she was to ask anyone, a friend of Harry Potter would be the best chance she had. Even if he had broken her young heart.

"I need help..." she said.

"If it's finding something to curse a Slytherin with, I can help..." he said, brandishing his wand in a manner that made her un-easy.

"Listen to me...I am NOT on their side..." Vicky began. Fred eyed her suspiciously. Vicky sighed, and pulled the sleeve of her robe right up to her shoulder. He relaxed a little. "Is there a place we can talk...quietly?" she said, as a group of people came in.

"so you can hex me?" Fred said.

"No. I don't want to bloody hex you. I'll even let you hold my wand, would a Slytherin truly do that?" Vicky asked, shortly.

"You got a point. This way." he said. "Stacey, man the till for me a moment" He led her to the back of the shop, and out to the stock room. He closed the door behind him, and held out his hand. Reluctantly, Vicky gave him her wand.

"What's wrong then?" he asked.

"I'm on the run..." Vicky said.

"From us? What's to say I don't just hand you in right now?" he asked.

"Because you know and I know, there's probably someone in the Ministry working for..._him_ and we'd probably be arrested on sight, and both tortured and killed. Be sensible, for Merlin's sake. I'm on the run from Death Eaters." Vicky perched on a nearby crate.

"Death Eaters. You're the daughter of one. Like I believe that." he said. He scowled at her, making Vicky want to grab him by the scruff of the neck and shake some reality in to him.

"So these cuts and bruises came from nowhere did they? Did you hear about an explosion in a house in Portsmouth last night?" Vicky asked. Fred picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet, and handed it to her. Vicky looked at it, and was instructed to turn to page 4.

"_An explosion occurred last night in the Muggle Naval town of Portsmouth. Local authorities are blaming the incident on a burst gas pipe, but Aurors on the scene have identified it as a Death Eater attack. There were no bodies to be found in the rubble, but it appears it is just one more..._"

The article trailed off in to a tirade about the ministry doing nothing.

"And you expect me to believe you?" he asked.

"Fred...that was MY house..."

"Your house?" he asked, taken aback. Vicky nodded. "Well...wouldn't your mother have stopped it?" he said, harshly, recovering his composure. However, it was short lived.

"My mother was the one who ordered the attack." she said. Fred went a little white beneath his freckles. He was being thrown from one extreme to the other, from hatred to shock, and, as he was a little shocked to find, concern.

"Your own mother?" he managed. The look on his face showed Vicky he was horrified.

"My mother disowned me last summer. She kicked me out, but I was allowed to come home after she decided I could stick to one side of the house, and she the other. She sent two men to kill me, they used Expulso on me, both of them! My home is in ruins. Now she knows my body wasn't found, she's not going to stop until I'm dead. Or she is. I need help...I need something to protect me..." she said. Fred hesitated, and handed her back her wand.

"do you have any family?" he asked. Vicky shook her head.

"dad died when I was one...he was murdered. I don't know any more than that. We lived in Ottery St Catchpole...but after You-Know-Who was defeated mum moved us. I'm heading there first I think...after I get some bits and pieces to help me protect myself..." Vicky said. Fred opened the store room door again, and looked out. Stacey had closed the shop for lunch it seemed. He took Vicky to their defence isle, and closed the curtain.

"Take what you need. And don't tell ANYONE I helped a Slytherin...I've got enough to hide without adding to that." he said. He helped Vicky to pick out things she might need, and ran out in tot the shop floor once or twice to get some extras.

"now go...if they are looking for you, it's not going to be long before they realise we've been closed too long for lunch." Fred said. He walked her to the door and un-locked it.

"thank you...and in case I don't see you again...that Valentines card you got with the beaters bat on it in your seventh year? That was from me..." Vicky said. Fred went a bit red, as Vicky flipped up the hood of her cloak and walked off down the street.

"Merlin, please, watch over that girl..." he said to himself.

Vicky didn't really know where to go from Diagon Alley, so she wandered round it a bit. After all, if she truly was being watched, she'd soon know about it. But who could have been watching her? I didn't see anyone when I left, I didn't see anyone who looked like a Death Eater...Vicky scolded herself for her naivety. Just because someone doesn't look like a Death Eater, that won't mean they're not. She must not be so damn trusting...at the moment it could end up killing her. It almost did, she was just lucky they had turned right...if they had turned left, she'd have had no chance but to curse them...or worse.

She tried not to think about it Passing Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream parlour, she realised she hadn't eaten. It was still boarded up. No one seemed to have hear anything about him, or where he could be. People were just...vanishing...off the face of the earth, and re-appearing dead...or not appearing at all. She turned in to a café, in order to get something to eat. It could be days until she ate again. She was so lost in her own thoughts she almost jumped out of her skin when the waitress came over.

She stopped in at Flourish and Blotts, to see if there was anything she might find useful, and picked up one or two books on security, concealment and anti detection charms. She then paused as she saw a familiar white beard, twinkling blue eyes behind a pair of spectacles on a crooked nose. Without hesitation, she marched up to the desk with a copy on top of all her other purchases, and walked out with them hidden in her extended bag. She left Diagon Alley, keeping her face well hidden in The Leaky Cauldron, as she passed through, and headed back to the alley she had landed in the previous evening. Forcing herself to think of a place that she would be safe for a week or two, she Dissaparated on the spot.

She re-appeared in what looked like a blocked corridor. It was eerily familiar, as she realised she was still in her robes, voices came to her ears. She pulled off her robes, thanking her lucky stars she wore Muggle clothing underneath, and stuffed it in her bag. Walking out, she could see a huge lake ahead of her, with an island in the middle. Muggles were everywhere...it had to be a park of some sort...they were walking dogs, children with their parents having picnics. Something stirred in her mind and Vicky briefly recalled doing something similar with her mother, and a mysterious man who she assumed was her father...the little boy from her dream last night was there too.

She walked around for a while, and watched the children feed a group of ducks bread. She partially wished she had some. Sitting down on a large, charred tree stump, she realised where she was. She had ended up in Leigh Park Gardens...officially known as Sir George Staunton Country Park. She was so close to her home...well, what was left of her home. As the day wore on, she realised she might be being followed. A man dressed like a Muggle was sat not far off, watching her every move. Vicky stood up, and headed back to where she had appeared. A giant set of stone steps, what was the front of a large country house that had been demolished years before, hid a small enclosed corridor, which had reportedly led to the staff chambers. The man was following her, as she turned he was half way to the steps, Vicky ran in to the corridor and turned on the spot, the man's yell being cut off as she dissapeared.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Help from Luna

She ended up on a hillside, in what was left of the evening sunshine. Looking round, she could see mile after mile of green lush grass...and there in the distance was a castle. Vicky made her way towards it, and only just made it to a stone bridge crossing a little stream as the sun began to set. She saw a figure kneeling by the stream, talking to herself quietly. Dirty blonde hair ran down to her waist, and something that looked like orange radishes hung from her ears. Vicky sighed...it was Luna Lovegood. Still...it was better than a kick in the teeth, she decided and made her way over.

"Luna..." she called. Luna stopped and looked round, her radishes bouncing as she did so.

"Oh, hello." she smiled.

"Luna, can you help me?" Vicky asked.

"you're a Slytherin, Aren't you? Vicky Blackheart, right?" she said, seeming to stare straight through her.

"...Yes...yes I am. Luna...how far are we from the village?" she asked. Luna seemed to drift away fro a moment, before replying.

"Not far...you're Maive Blackheart's daughter aren't you?" Luna asked. Vicky looked at her, and found the overwhelming urge to lie.

"I was. She disowned me because I wouldn't follow her in to You-Know-Who's army. Anyway, thanks Luna. I'd better go...which way is it?"

"don't be silly, you cant go wandering off in the dark!" Luna said as if chiding a little child. "Come back to mine, I'm sure Daddy wont mind putting you up for the night on our sofa. Are you running from someone?" asked Luna, taking Vicky by the arm, causing Vicky to jump slightly

"How did you..."

"you have the look of a hunted animal about you..." she said knowlegebly. Vicky smiled a weak smile.

Staying over at Luna's was not something she had ever imagined she would be doing, Vicky thought to herself, as she forced herself to drink whatever concoction it was her father had handed Vicky.

"But then again it is only a prototype at the moment," smiled Xenophilius, as he talked about some weird hat thing he'd made which was resting on a bust of a human head. "Luna, my dear, have you decided what robes you are wearing for the wedding yet?"

"Not yet Daddy, not yet. There is still time after all. I'll show you to the village in the morning," she said, turning to Vicky. She nodded and politely refused a third cup of...something...that the two Lovegoods were drinking, mumbling something about too much of a good thing.

Vicky awoke to a banging on the door the next morning, mingled with the already irritating clanking of the printing press in the corner. Luna hurriedly grabbed Vicky by the arm and made her hide upstairs in her room. Her father threw a cloth over the printing press, and waved his wand to silence it. There was a loud sneering voice as the knocker came in.

"how many chances to stop do you think you have, Lovegood?" it sneered. Vicky recognised the voice of one of her mother's cohorts, but was unable to tell which one it was.

"Sorry? Can I ask what it is you are gesturing towards?" asked Luna's father.

"Daddy won't stop supporting Harry Potter in the Quibbler, you see," whispered Luna in a matter of fact tone. "This is the second time it's happened." Voices rose from downstairs, and Vicky could see a wand being waved in the face of Xenophilius, he was pale but resolute.

"You've got one more chance, Lovegood. Next time, you'll find yourself missing something a little too close to your heart, if you get my drift?" Xenophilius nodded, and the stranger didn't bother to reach the door, he just Dissaparated on the spot. Shaking a little, he bade the two girls to come down.

"Luna, show your friend to the village, then come straight home, do you hear?" he said.

"Yes Daddy." Luna nodded, and she and Vicky quickly made their way to the village.

"Thanks for putting me up, Luna...even though I'm a Slytherin..." Vicky began as they reached the boundaries. Vicky removed her robes and stood in Muggle clothes, a pair of blue jeans and a Slytherin green t-shirt.

"Houses don't matter any more, Vicky," she said calmly. "We're all in the same boat...it all comes down to if Harry defeats You – Know – Who...if he does, its great isn't it? We'll all be free."

"Do you believe he can do it, Luna?" Vicky asked, despite herself.

"Oh yes. I believe in my friends. I've got to go now...here..." she pulled something from up her t-shirt. It was a battered edition of that day's Quibbler. It screamed _Happy birthday, Harry Potter _across the front, and for one moment, Vicky admired the Lovegoods bravery.

"Vicky...good luck in whatever you do next. Remember, _"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" _And with that, Luna turned and walked quickly back the way she had come, waving her hands near her ears now and then. Vicky did wonder if they were the reason her mother had moved them.

Vicky walked in to the centre of the town, and looked for the church. If anything, this would at least let her know where her father was buried. She was walking down one side street when she saw a woman, quite clearly a Muggle, walk through a solid brick wall which served as a garden fence for a small cottage. Vicky froze where she was...was it a magical dwelling? Something about it called to her, and she walked forwards, avoiding the Muggles as they walked through the street. She stepped in to the garden, and the noise of the street dissapeared. She wondered if it only affected wizards, or if the Muggle had felt a slight loss of hearing. The garden was overgrown, the gnomes clearly thought they had clear run of the place. The windows were covered with years of filth and grime, and Vicky could see nothing as a result. She walked up to the door, and knocked it. Rather than anyone calling from within, the door sprang open, and a voice bade her come in. It was like a child learning to talk. Or rather two children, a boy and a girl, one after the other.

She stepped inside and the door closed behind her. Dust was everywhere, as Vicky called out to ask if anyone was home she sneezed. Vicky took out her wand and went through the nearest door. It was a large country kitchen, and it looked like the previous owners had just run away...everything was still there...there were even some kids crayons on the floor next to the table. A huge wooden table sat in one end of the room, an Aga at the far end with a cauldron sat on the stove. Attached to the beams in the room, pots, pans, and various other pieces of kitchen equipment. Herbs and spices had been hung up to dry out. She reached up to touch one branch of mint with her wand, and it turned to dust in front of her. Vicky found it a little odd to say the least. It was definitely a magical house, the books lining a shelf at the far end of the room would most certainly not be anything a Muggle would own. Yet...it was as if the owners had just...dissapeared. Vicky left it and went up the stairs.

There were three rooms upstairs, and a bathroom. One was empty except for a bed and a chest of drawers. Vicky presumed this had to be a guest room. There wasn't much else in the room, looking through the drawers, they were empty.

The second room was definitely the home owners. It was decorated lavishly in silvers and greens, the people who lived here either like the colours rather a lot or were Slytherin's like herself. The huge four post bed was covered in a bedspread with the Slytherin crest, Vicky felt a little pleased that she had guessed right. Even the canopy was green and silver, and so were the curtains on each side of the bed. Vicky looked around the room, poking in drawers, looking in cupboards, trying to find some clue to the home owners identity. There was no sign of any woman ever living here, she realised. No dresses or dress robes in the wardrobes, the only thing that looked like a jewellery stand was empty, its one drawer open. The man, on the other hand, was everywhere. A pair of socks lay balled up next to a washing basket that would most certainly need washing by now. Men's robes lined half of the wardrobe, and a watch lay on the bedside table, still resolutely ticking away after all this time. She picked it up, and looked at a slowly ticking clock on the wall. They were both completely in time

The third room was a nursery. There were two cots still there, one on each side of the room. One had a pink canopy, one had a blue canopy. The parents had spared no expense, it seemed, remembering something from the Daily Prophet about Jennings Cots being quite expensive. Teddies were piled high in the corner, next to a baby changing table. Clothes lined the little wardrobe, both boys and girls. A fleeting memory of lying in her own cot in a room strikingly similar came to mind, but then again, maybe all babies rooms were the same. Vicky felt a little sad seeing the little clothes there, just as their owners had left them. She picked up a little teddy, his pink bow had faded with the years, and his stomach feebly changed from pink to yellow with _Baby Girl _written across it, and hoped that the house owners and their children hadn't met a sticky end somewhere.

Vicky left the room, and went downstairs. There was one room left to explore, and Vicky pushed the door open slowly. It was a study. Leather seats and bookshelves filled with book after book filled the room. A table loaded with different magical instruments was in the middle of the room, and a sturdy oak desk sat with a view out the grimy window. Vicky turned and looked at the ornate fireplace, and something turned in her stomach. With a panic she had never known, she rummaged in the bag hanging from her shoulder and pulled out the newspaper articles concerning her father. She found one, a few years before his death, where he had been given the Order of Merlin, for defending a group of young Muggles against an attacking Death Eater. He was stood in front of a large, ornate fireplace, beaming at her.

_"Resting at home, having sustained a severe injury during the attack, Gordrich welcomes us in to his study for this interview. It is what you would expect of a well to do man like Gordrich Selwyn..."_

Vicky swallowed hard...it was almost too much to take in...she searched for another piece of paper, this time depicting a man laying face down on the floor, as Aurors comforted a crying woman, holding a baby. Again, it was that same fireplace in the background. Tears came thick and fast to her eyes, as realisation hit her hard. She was in her own home.

A memory came flooding back to her. She was sat on the floor, playing with bits of parchment. There was a boy with her, getting immense pleasure out of tearing the screwed up balls in to little pieces and throwing them in the air. A man sat at the desk, his head bowed as he scribbled a letter. Every now and then he would look over at the two, smile and give his wand a flick so that the paper balls rose in the air, whizzed round them, and came back to rest again. The little boy was staring at the ball, and it began to raise in the air again, Vicky was giggling, she was impressed.

"Maive, Maive, come quickly! Robert's showing his first signs of magic!" Shouted the man. Vicky watched as Robert made the ball float for a bit, as Maive came in she stood and watched for a moment, then walked back out again. The man shook his head.

"Your mother doesn't care, but I do. Clever boy Robert, clever boy!" said the man. He came over and gave Robert a hug.

Vicky sunk on to the dusty leather chair, tears falling faster than she could wipe them away.

She had often wondered why he mother had no mementos of her father. She knew now that she had simply uprooted the pair of them, and moved them to Portsmouth, leaving everything her father owned behind. And that boy...Robert...who was he? He'd been in her dreams a lot lately, good and bad ones. What possible connection did he have with her?

"Who's there? Who's crying?" came a voice. Vicky looked round wildly for the source, it seemed to come from the end of the room, where a set of curtains covered the wall. With a flick of her wand, Vicky drew them apart.

"Good Merlin...Daylight...I never thought I'd see it again." came the voice. Vicky saw a man sat in the very chair she was sat in. He was perhaps four or maybe five years older than Vicky was at the time he was painted. He had the same fair hair, the same blue eyes as Vicky. She looked at him, and as he smiled at her, she knew her cheeks dimpled in exactly the same way, in exactly the same places.

"Dad?" she asked, and the man smiled with a nod.

"Victoria...my little girl...so grown up..." he said, a voice full of emotion. "Where is your mother? I'd like a few words with her..." he said.

"Dad...Mum...tried to kill me..." Vicky said.

"Pardon?" he said, thinking he had misheard. Vicky explained everything that had happened since she passed her O.W.L.S, how she was now running for her life. Her father was incandescent with rage by the time she had finished.

"I swear to Merlin, if I were able to, I'd kill the woman myself..." he said.

"If I don't stop her, Dad...she'll kill me..." Vicky managed, something that had been playing on her mind since the attack.

"Right...first things first, my girl, you need to put some protection round this house...I'm not stuck up with a Permanent Sticking charm, so you can take me with you, if you need to." said Gordrich, spurred in to action by the worried voice of his daughter. "It's been a long time since I first cast the protective charms. Then, you'll need to get yourself some food...I'd suggest you stay here and lie low...if I know your mother, she'll think you were too young to remember this place..."

"Dad...I was...I found you again by accident..." Vicky said. Gordrich laughed.

"Well it was a fortunate one at that. I'm going to head to the British Museum of Magic...I have a portrait in the Hall of Honours there and I'm going to find out what I can about what's happened since your mother took you both away."

"What do you mean both of us, Dad?" Vicky asked, although by the look on his face, she was in for another nasty shock.

"Victoria...you have a twin brother..." he said.

"I...I can't have...I'd have known about him..." Vicky said, puzzled.

"You do...his name was Robert...if anything has happened to him..."

"Dad...I'll find Robert...and I will take care of Mum." Vicky said, crossing her heart with her free hand. Now at least, she knew who the mysterious little boy was.

Vicky spent the rest of the day setting up protective wards, with her father's guidance, and feeling it was owed, she cleaned the house from top to bottom. Her father's watch, ticking resolutely on the bedside table, she put on her own wrist. She hadn't the heart to throw out his clothes, instead she cleaned every last one of them. By the time she was finished, the house gleamed.

"You've made me proud, my girl...it's been years since this place gleamed so much." said her father's portrait, propped up in a chair at the table as she cooked her dinner.

"where do I go from here, Dad? I've got to find her, and if she does realise I might remember this place...what do I do?" Vicky asked.

"Well...we need to know if you mother is looking for you, that's the main thing. The sooner we know, the better." said Gordrich.

"the Daily Prophet mentioned there were no bodies. So unless Mum has taken to reading the papers, which I doubt, I'm safe for a while." Vicky said, wiping her face.

"If I know your mother, she'll think you're too young to remember this place when she uprooted you both." said her father.

"Dad, I found it again by accident, remember?." Vicky replied. "I saw a Muggle pass through the wall of the garden, and came to have a look." Her father laughed.

"Still...we need to discuss a course of action."

"Well...the first thing I want to do is find your...erm..." Vicky faltered, a little unsure of how she should say it.

"My final resting place?" he said, and laughed again.

"Well...yes..." Vicky managed. "Even if it holds no answers, it will at least mean something to me."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Records Office

The next day, she awoke, sunlight splashing across the bed through the newly cleaned windows. After washing and dressing, she left the house. Muggles wandered up and down the streets, none looking particularly happy. It must be all the unexplained deaths and accidents, she reasoned. As she headed towards the church up the main road, two familiar figures came up to her, and pulled her in to an alleyway.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" asked the voice of George Weasley, holding his wand under her chin. "Shouldn't you be with your Death Eater mother?"

"I'm no Death Eater, damn it..." she began as Fred made his brother lower his wand.

"It's true George, she isn't. I've already heard what's happened. She's on the run." He said.

"You sure she hasn't Confunded you?" he said, looking at his brother. Fred sighed and went through everything Vicky had told him back at the store.

"But what are you doing here, apart from apparently stalking me," said Fred.

"My family home is here...I was on the way to the churchyard to try and find my fathers grave, actually." Vicky said, and despite herself could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Fred gave his brother a reproachful look and handed her a handkerchief. "don't you have other people you should be scaring?"

"Look...we'll come with you. It's not a good idea to wander around alone these days..." Fred said, drowning his brothers protests. "There's been more and more Death Eaters appearing day by day, but they can't attack us...the ministry hasn't fallen yet." The trio walked up to the church, and separated, Vicky went one way, and Fred and George the other. Snatches of their conversation were sent Vicky's way by the wind as she wandered slowly among the old medieval tombs and gravestones, looking for her fathers resting place.

"Merlin Fred, she's still got a hold over you, hasn't she?" George said.

"what do you expect? I didn't want things to end the way it did...I was so angry I blamed her for leaking that letter. How could a Slytherin – Gryffindor relationship work? We were doomed from the start" Fred sounded upset, unless it was the wind distorting his voice.

"there's always now. I don't think she will be going back to Hogwarts this year." George said. Vicky chanced a glance over to where the boys were stood, and saw George put his arm across his brothers shoulders as he sat on a tomb. Vicky felt an odd pang in her heart.

Wiping her eyes, she walked forwards and tripped over the corner of a very low to the ground tomb. It was the kind that had a sort of...lid...on top of the earth. Standing again she cast her eyes over the stone and froze.

"Over here!" she called. She knelt again, and brushed some moss from the main headstone.

_Here Lies_

_Gordrich Selwyn_

_25/05/1954 – 15/10/1981_

_Aged 27_

_Rest peacefully forever_

Fred and George came running over as Vicky cleared the gravestone at the head of the tomb of dirt and moss. In the centre of the tomb was a stone hollow, runes carved around the outside of it. Vicky had no idea what it was.

"Your Dad was a Selwyn?" asked George, quietly.

"Yes...Mum refused to take his name. She just...upped and left after he died...left everything behind." she felt a hand on her shoulder...out of the corner of her eye she could see it was Fred's.

"We're sorry, Vicky, we really are." Fred said.

"don't be. She's got a lot to answer for when I get hold of her, so if you feel sorry for anyone feel sorry for her." Vicky replied. The twins said their goodbyes, although it seemed Fred wanted to stay longer. Vicky didn't know how long she was there, but when she did feel like she needed to go it was getting close to sun set.

The next day, Vicky came running back to the cottage, wand out, barricading the door as she closed it behind her.

"Calm down, calm down, breath...that's it...what's happened..." said Gordrich's picture.

"Death Eater...in the village...almost got me..." she panted.

"did he see your face...think carefully now..." Gordrich said. Vicky shook her head.

"Don't think so...but cant be sure.." she managed. Vicky emptied the food she had stolen on to the table. She hated stealing, but she had no Muggle money what so ever, and to be honest, she wouldn't know what was what. She was doing what she needed to survive, which had almost meant breaking the Statute of Secrecy and hexing the man she thought had spotted her. Not that its far off being broken, she thought to herself. Vicky made sure everything she needed was in her bag, just in case she needed to make a quick exit.

"Take me with you," said Gordrich. "I may be just canvas and paint, but I'll still be able to help you." he said. Vicky agreed and shrunk the painting, putting it in the bag. She hadn't long completed her packing when something silvery came flowing through the window. It was a Patronus, in the shape of a ferret.

_"The ministry has fallen, safety at Little Dawn, aunts house come quickly"_ it said, before vanishing. Vicky lost no time in stepping outside and Apparating.

She landed awkwardly outside a large looking cottage.

"What did you offer Fred Weasley as proof you weren't a Death Eater?" asked a voice. Vicky froze and racked her brains as quickly as she could.

"I surrendered my wand to him..." she said, terrified. George came out from behind a fence and helped her up, wand constantly at the ready.

"Fred is waiting inside...Muriel thinks you're his girlfriend, that's the only condition she let you come, so don't be surprised if you're greeted rather affectionately by Fred." George said. Vicky nodded. He took her inside and upstairs, to a room that she would evidently be sharing with Ginny.

"Stay here, I'll be back in a second with Fred. Aunt Muriel isn't the most polite of people, so you've been warned." he said, before disappearing. She was left alone for a while, her thoughts running riot. What if they saw her Apparate? Could they trace her, find out where she went? Would they destroy her home? That was one of the more heartbreaking thoughts. There was the voice of a woman downstairs, complaining that "Ginevra is far too skinny" and the muffled thumps of someone walking off rather quickly.

Ginny came upstairs with Molly, and looked in to see Vicky sat with her head in her hands.

"Vicky, are you ok?" asked Molly, sitting by the side of her on the bed. Vicky hadn't realised she was crying.

"My mum wants me dead..." she began, but Molly hushed her.

"We know, Vicky...we know."

"I don't expect you to try and look out for me...Mrs Weasley, you've got enough to worry about. But...I..." Vicky faltered, tears coming again. There was movement next to her and someone new sat down beside her. She felt an arm across her shoulders, looking up she saw Fred there.

"You're ok?" he asked, meaning had she been hurt.

"I...I'm not injured..." Vicky began. She felt him squeeze her shoulders.

"Good..." he replied. He held her for a while as she cried, terrified out of her wits, unsure what on earth was happening. But there was worse to come.

"Vicky...your mother was in the group that attacked us. She may know where you are, or think that we know where you are." Fred said gently. He looked down at her, and Vicky could sense the unspoken question. _Are you _sure_ you can do this alone?_

"I've got to find her before she finds me...and find out what happened to my father...and my brother." she said. "I can't risk anyone else's life..."

"You have a brother?" asked Fred, a little shocked. Vicky nodded.

"Yes...turns out that was something else she didn't tell me about." Vicky replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"It's going to end soon. I know it is." Fred said, holding her close to him.

"Yeah...when I get hold of her it will be" Vicky replied.

Returning to the village a few days later, Fred came with Vicky to her fathers house. The door hung off it's hinges as they approached, wands at the ready as soon as they were invisible to the Muggles. Each room was empty, but the place had been ransacked.

"Ruined...all the effort I put in...to make it seem like my home..." Vicky managed, picking up a book that had been pulled from the bookshelf and ripped in two. It was heartbreaking to see everything destroyed. Even more so considering the heartache the memories tidying everything had brought back.

"It's ok. We'll fix it all." Fred said.

"They are definitely looking for me...that's for sure..." Vicky repaired a chair and sat in it.

"It's like I'm some sort of sordid deed she wants hushed up, and doesn't care how." Fred did the same and took her hand.

"It's ok. Let's get this place cleaned up. If you're staying here, I'd feel happier if it was safe and protected..." Fred said. Vicky felt her heart tug again, he had said something similar in the letter she had received when they split up.

"Thank you..." she managed, and for a second saw that... something... again in his eyes she had seen that first time they met in secret on the Quidditch pitch after curfew.

The house was soon back to it's old state, and Vicky found herself constantly on guard. She spent days chatting with her father, trying to figure out what to do, learning all about the man she had never really met. In a way, it was heart breaking. But in another way, it revealed to her all of the heartache he had been through, and almost every day that went by, Vicky found herself more and more determined to face her mother and pay for her father's murder, whoever the murderer might be.

"The problem is, Victoria, I loved your mother with all my heart. Even if I didn't agree with the company she kept, things she did, even some of the books she read...I guess love is blind because I always defended her, I was always...always hers." Gordrich looked down at the bottom of the frame.

"Dad...you cant blame yourself. The woman she has become...you could never have forseen it." Vicky said, wishing she could comfort her father. They were sat in the study, and Vicky was reading through the books on the shelves. Anything to help her, give her a clue how to fight what seemed such a helpless task.

"I know, I know," he sighed, "But the more a fool I feel, the more I feel I could have prevented where I stand now. "But you...you have grown in to a fine, determined young woman, even without my input. I suppose I should be thankful to your mother for that."

"No Dad. Be thankful to my friends at Hogwarts. Mum had nothing to do with my education, she barely paid me any attention before then as it is. I owe a lot to one friend in particular, for breaking barriers that have been there for centuries." Vicky said, her mind wandering back to early in November, in her fifth year.

She held her breath, certain any second now she would be discovered. She sat on a beam in the rafters of the Ravenclaw section of the Quidditch stands. If he didn't show soon, she might not be able to get back in without Filtch finding her, and that would be another detention with the cow Umbridge. Vicky shuddered, and froze as someone came up the wooden steps.

"Selwynn, you here?" A male voice called out from the darkness.

"I'm here." The voices owner came out of the darkness, and Harry Potter stood before her. He looked tired.

"Told you I'd be here." Vicky smiled. "Sorry to hear about what happened...at the Quidditch match..."

"You weren't there?" he asked, sitting opposite her on another beam.

"I don't watch Quidditch. I'd rather spend my time thinking of ways to murder Malfoy and get away with it." Vicky replied.

"You and me both." Harry replied.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Vicky asked. He had slipped her a note in detention a few hours ago, asking her to meet him in the Quidditch stadium.

"You remember a few weeks ago, that notice to disband all student organisations?"

"Yeah. The Slytherin Gobstones team were pretty pissed." Vicky replied.

"That was because of me. I'm starting a club for learning Defence against the Dark arts. We met in the Hogs Head, and we think someone probably ratted on us. Anyway, the main thing is, we're going ahead anyway. There's already been some meetings. I asked you to come here tonight to ask you to come as well." Harry looked at Vicky who was looking at him as if he had lost his marbles.

"Did you hear yourself? A Slytherin, at an organisation to learn Defence _against_ the dark arts? That aside, I'll be willing to bet I'll be the only one there. And I'd get hexed on sight. No, sorry Harry, as much as I'm against Vold...Vol..._him_, I value my life while I'm at school." Vicky said, shaking her head.

"Just think it over." Harry said, taking her hand again and giving it a squeeze. "Please."

"I'll think about it. But that's all I can promise." Vicky replied.

Fred had begun to sneak down to her armed with baskets of food and ideas on what to do, where to search next. He returned after a second trip, this time with George.

"this is bloody madness, Fred. If we get caught, and it's damn miracle we didnt, we're dead for sure." George said.

"Would you, as a member of the Order, turn your back on someone who needs our protection?" Fred hissed as Vicky came back from the study, having just finished one of the books.

"It's you who needs protection. You're letting your heart cloud your judgement." George hissed back.

"Mum said to bring you these...we wont be able to sneak out again too soon. It's getting more and more difficult." Fred said as Vicky sat down, weary, at the table.

"Tell her thank you." Vicky said, wiping her eyes. She was so tired, but had endured nothing but sleepless nights since the ministry fell nearly two weeks ago. "I'm heading to the Records of Wizarding Britain office tomorrow. Dad's death will have been recorded, as will my brothers birth...also his adoption or death, if that's what happened." she said. She didn't know why she was telling them this, but it felt better to talk about it to someone other than her fathers painting.

"but that's suicidal...it's right next to the Ministry of Magic!" George said. Fred looked at his brother, his eyes re-enforcing the message he had spoken earlier.

"If there is anywhere else that would help me, George, I'd sooner go there. But I don't really know where else to start." Vicky said, slightly surprised by George's outburst.

"Please, just be careful...the Ministry is a dangerous place these days." Fred said.

"I know, Fred, and I'll be as careful as I can." Vicky replied, as George unpacked the basket for her.

Vicky kept her hood up and her wand hand at the ready as she walked down the street that held the Ministry of Magic. She passed its public entrance, and onwards to one of the shabby looking offices nearby. She stepped inside the doorway, and making quite sure she was not seen, pushed the door open.

She came out in to a large reception area. A desk sat in the middle of the room, and several elderly witches and wizards were assisting people around it. A man was sat with his nose in a copy of _Wizarding Nobility, Natures Geneaology_ not far from Vicky, while several witches and wizards were pouring over copies of the Daily Prophet, the headline declaring Professor Snape had been made Headmaster of Hogwarts. Vicky suppressed a shudder, and went up to the desk.

"Hello dear, how can an elderly witch be of service?" she asked.

"I'm looking for information on my Family Tree, in particular some family members birth and death records." Vicky said. The witch paused a moment, and Vicky watched the woman's eyes carefully. They remained calm and focused, and as she walked off asking Vicky to follow, Vicky breathed a sigh of relief. She had come so far, and could not afford to be caught now.

"Best bet would be to try here, my dear." the witch showed her to a section of a vast library, which contained the birth and death records for hundreds, maybe thousands of witches and wizards. Scroll after scroll, each with its own ribbon holding it together, each recording names, dates, places and causes. The shelf they were on seemed to stretch for miles Vicky thanked the witch, and began what she knew would be a long search.

For five days, she returned each day to pick up where she left off. Scrolls were piled high around her as she worked, the elderly witch who had showed her the section bringing her cups of tea now and then. The scrolls she had searched began to blur in to one in her mind as it got later in each day, and she found it harder and harder to sleep, knowing she was so close, but so far at the same time.

On the sixth day, she finally found what she was looking for. Her fathers death certificate.

"_Cause of death...Natural Causes"_ Vicky read and re-read the words, her insides bubbling with anger. Why would a perfectly healthy twenty seven year old man just drop dead? Torn between anger and outrage, Vicky was tempted to tear it up. Instead, she put it aside and began to search again for evidence of Robert. It wasn't long before she found his birth certificate...and then his adoption certificate. It said he had been adopted by someone called Critchley. Perhaps her mother had simply decided to get rid of anything that reminded her of her husband as well as uprooting her. But if that was true, why didn't she put Vicky up for adoption too? Vicky snatched both and took the death certificate, making copies of each for her own use, before heading back home.

"Dad...I've found something..." she said that evening as she arrived home.

"what have you found?" he asked. Vicky told him everything, that the dates on Roberts adoption certificate were a month after her fathers death, that her fathers death certificate gave his cause of death as natural causes.

"what lies!" he bellowed. "It was murder, plain, cold blooded murder, and you and I know it!"

"I know. I'll find Mum, and I will get the truth out of her, I swear it." Vicky said. "I wont rest until I know for sure." _Or until she's dead_ Vicky added in the back of her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Promise Nothing

September 1st came and went. Vicky felt sad to know she could not, and would not, return to Hogwarts. It would have been like walking around with a giant glowing sign pointing her out to her mother. Instead, she spent her time making trips to and from the British Wizarding Museum to try and find out anything possible about her father. His Order of Merlin meant his life would have been documented,and so Vicky searched for every fact she could find about her father, in the hope it would reveal something to help her.

It was clearer to her now than it had ever been, Vicky realised, after three weeks of hunting for every fact and snippet of info she could get. Like Harry had to kill Voldemort, Vicky would have to kill her mother, else she would be killed herself. Fred made regular trips to her, bringing her things he knew she would need. Vicky discussed the situation with him and George, both had agreed on the same view as Vicky. If she stayed here, she would be like a sitting duck, but if she went searching, where did she begin? The answer to this presented itself sooner than the three of them expected.

"Get in there!" growled a voice. Vicky looked up to see Fred and George forcing a black robed and masked man in to the house. He was tied up around the waist, and Vicky pushed a chair in to the back of his legs, making him sit down.

"Bastard was tailing us..." Fred said, annoyed. Vicky gave her wand a flick and revealed the man's face. Vicky recognised him as Drew Kippin, a Slytherin who had left when Vicky finished her sixth year.

"You! Maive _will_ be pleased!" he said, grinning from ear to ear in a slightly maniacal way.

"You stupid boy, Drew!" Vicky said, annoyed. "Don't you realise why you are here?"

"I was given a mission of importance." he said, glaring at her.

"You were given the task of finding me because my mother thinks you are...dispensable. With spell work as poor as yours is I'm not surprised." Vicky said, running her hands through her hair. "Fuck."

"Take a nap," Fred said to Drew, and stuffed a Fainting Fancy down his throat, from the Skiving Snackbox on the table. He held Drew's mouth shut, making him swallow it, and he sagged to one side as it took effect. "You sure know your mother...he didn't even conceal himself well enough."

"Well...my hiding place is out now, isn't it?" Vicky said and sat back on a chair.

"what are you going to do?" George asked.

"Run...I'm no where near ready enough to face her...the more I drag this out the better...I want to face her on _my_ terms. Mother to Daughter. But first, I want answers. Chances are this dipshit wont know anything, but it's worth a shot. Can you watch the door? If there are more, run. Run like fuck. Don't worry about me." she said to Fred. He nodded hesitantly. Vicky put the other half of a Fainting Fancy on Drew's tongue, and slowly, he came round.

"Let me go, you bitch...I swear I'll make you pay for this." Drew wriggled against the magical ropes binding him.

"We want information from you, Drew. And you'll give it, else we will make you talk." Vicky said.

"I won't tell you anything." he said resolutely. Vicky raised her wand and gave it a curious wiggle. The boots on Drew's feet began to his and steam, he began to sweat as they heated up.

"I can keep going Drew..." Vicky said. Fred was looking away, while George was watching Drew's face get redder and redder as his feet became unbearably hotter and hotter.

"Ok...I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" he cried. Vicky reversed her wand movements and the boots became stone cold again.

"Where is Maive?" asked George.

"Up north...watching for truants....working with one of the Snatcher groups near York." he said, panting.

"How many has she got looking for me?" asked Vicky.

"everyone but the highest ranking Death Eaters are keeping an eye out for you. They all know not to kill you, that your mother wants to be the one to do that. Snatchers all over the country know what you look like." Drew replied.

"Go to my mother. In person. Give her this message. When the final battle comes, I will take her life, in exchange for what hand she had in my fathers death. Her time is almost over. Now, get the fuck out of here..." Vicky said, waving her wand and loosening the ropes. He stood up, and ran like lightning out of the door , moments later there was the crack of someone Dissaparating.

"I didn't think I had it in me to be so cruel..." Vicky said, shocked at herself. George had gone to keep his father informed of what had happened, while Vicky had packed her things, ready to leave straight away.

"I wouldn't worry yourself...You – Know – Who is much much worse. All you did was boil some feet." Fred said.

"I've got to get out of here. I don't want this place destroyed a second time. Fred, I want you to promise me something..." Vicky said. She knew what she was about to ask was a lot, but she trusted no one else.

"What?"

"guard this house, and guard my fathers grave. Make sure they stay intact...please..." Vicky asked.

"I will." Fred said. He took her hand and pulled her towards him. "But you must promise me something." he said, looking in her eyes. "Promise me, I will see you again."

"Fred...I...I can't promise that...I don't know..." Vicky managed.

"Just promise me." he said. Vicky nodded, her eyes slightly tear filled. Fred then bent his head lower and kissed her. Softly, sweetly and passionately he kissed her, then he slowly pulled away. "I'll be waiting for you." Vicky nodded, before snatching up her bag, running outside and Apparating away.

Vicky found herself on deserted hillside...she didn't know where she was. There was a cave, or so it seemed, in the hillside further up, so she headed for it. She made it just as the rain came, and dashed inside. She thanks her lucky stars, and then cursed them again when she found a wand in her back.

"Say a word, and I'll blast you to bits...back of the cave, move." Vicky did as she was told, wishing she had pulled her wand out as she entered the cave. There was a fire roaring away, and she was forced down in a corner.

"I warn you now, Blackheart, call him and I WILL kill you." said the voice of Dean Thomas.

"I'm no Death Eater, Dean. Check for yourself, if you like." she said, holding out her left arm. He made a movement with his wand and her sleeve split open, he pulled the two sides apart and looked hard for the mark. It was clear he was satisfied when he repaired it, slumped down the other side of the fire and threw her a piece of bread.

"What are you doing here then?" he asked as Vicky pulled off her bag, and dug in it for more food. It seemed the loaf was the last Dean had.

"I'm on the run. My mother tried to kill me. She, on the other hand, _is_ a Death Eater. I've been hiding in my old home in Ottery St Catchpole ever since...but it got found out I was there, so I've had to run" Vicky said, and passed him one of Molly Weasleys cakes.

"Lemme guess...if you don't take her out, she'll take you out?" he asked

"Got it in one. But I want to face her on my terms. She's got a few things to answer for." Vicky replied.

They hid together for a few weeks, Apparating now and then to a different town. After Apparating again to a new town, the pair were horrified to find it infested with Dementors.

"We'll be Kissed on sight....there's no way we can get rid of that lot!" said Dean.

"We've got to try. If I don't get food tonight, after almost being caught by Snatchers yesterday, I'm not sure I can take it. Can you make a Patronus?" Vicky asked.

"Course I can...Everyone who was in Dumbledore's Army can make a Patronus." he said.

"Good. Let's get going. We'll have to steal it again.."

"I hate having to steal...can't we just go get some gold from Gringotts and exchange it for pounds?" he asked.

"If you want to be arrested and killed on sight, be my guest." Vicky said, evenly. She walked forwards, and felt the fear and despair that the Dementors produced wash over her. She closed her eyes a moment, and the memory of a kiss came to her, it made her warm and happy inside, she opened her eyes and cried "_Expecto Patronum!_" Next to her, Dean did the same, and a silvery wolf along with Dean's silvery dog, charged in to the street, driving away the Dementors, and the pair ran in their wake. A Muggle supermarket was quite close, and Dean ran inside, to grab as much food as he could. Vicky kept the memory of Fred's kiss at the forefront of her mind, knowing this was her strongest happiest memory. Dean grabbed her arm, a Muggle wire basket full of food on his other arm and a rather angry shopkeeper on their tails...they ran out and down to an alleyway, before Dissaparating.

They re-appeared in a forest, Vicky didn't know where the hell she was, but really didn't care. They were safe, for the meantime.

"We need to find shelter...I don't know where we are but you can bet now they know we're around they'll send the Snatchers after us." Dean panted. They found an old stone hut,that looked like it had been abandoned for centuries, and went inside. They repaired a gaping hole in the roof, and settled down, Vicky casting as many protective and concealing charms about her as she could remember.

"What are you doing?" asked Dean, as Vicky began to hunt in her bag.

"Getting help," she panted, pulling the shrunken picture of her father out of the bag. She returned it to its proper size and propped it against the wall. Her father was dozing in his chair.

"Dad, dad wake up..." Vicky said. He yawned and stretched, and wiped his eyes. "Dad, Mum sent someone to find me...I'm on the run again."

"You've got a picture of your dad?" asked Dean, a little puzzled.

"Dad died when I was one...I've only just found this picture." Vicky replied.

"So...where are you now?" asked her father. Vicky looked at Dean who had Apparated them.

"We don't know, Sir." Dean said respectfully. "We only just escaped Dementors."

"charms are up?" he asked Vicky. She nodded. "Good. I've been talking to various people at the Hall of Honours. You need to find your mother...if she realises you're trying to find out what happened to me, she'll realise you're looking for Robert too...his life might also be in danger."

"He was adopted, Dad, by someone with a surname of Critchley..." Vicky began, but was interrupted by Dean.

"wasn't there a Robert Critchley in Hufflepuff?" he asked. Vicky paused for a moment, and grinned.

"You may well be right, Dean." This was the first good lead she'd had since the records office. "Know where abouts they live?"

"Mould on the Would, I think..." Dean said.

"Then that's where I've got to go. You don't have to follow me, Dean. This isn't your battle."

"Two is better than one, Vicky. You know that." Dean said, using his wand to open a tin of what turned out to be peach slices.

"Thanks Dean" Vicky smiled.


End file.
